Jon Polito facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jon Polito
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Polito in 1989
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| Born |
Jon Raymond Polito
December 29, 1950 |
| Died | September 1, 2016 (aged 65) Duarte, California, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1981–2016 |
| Spouse(s) |
Darryl Armbruster
(m. 2015) |
| Relatives | Jack Polito (brother) Rosemary Simpson (sister) |
| Awards | Cinequest Film Festival: Maverick Spirit Event Award (2005) HRIFF: Best Actor in a Short Film (2012) |
Jon Raymond Polito (born December 29, 1950 – died September 1, 2016) was a talented American character actor. He was known for playing many different types of roles. Over 35 years, he acted in more than 220 movies and TV shows!
You might remember him as Detective Steve Crosetti in the TV series Homicide: Life on the Street. He also played Phil Bartoli in Crime Story. Jon Polito appeared in popular movies like The Rocketeer, The Crow, and Gangster Squad. He was also a favorite actor of the famous Coen brothers filmmakers, appearing in five of their movies. These included Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, and The Big Lebowski. In 2014, he played nightclub owner Enrico Banducci in the movie Big Eyes, which starred Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.
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Working on Homicide: Life on the Street
At first, Jon Polito wasn't sure about joining the TV show Homicide: Life on the Street. He had just moved to Los Angeles and didn't want to move to Baltimore for the show. But his agents sent him the script anyway.
The script had a scene for a Polish-American detective and an Irish-American detective. Polito wanted to play the Irish detective. However, he was told he could only try out for the Polish role. After his audition, he added a message. He said he would only be interested if he could play the Irish detective. The show's creators, Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana, liked him. They changed the Irish character to an Italian detective named Steve Crosetti just for him. The Polish detective role was also changed and played by Clark Johnson.
Later, the show wasn't getting many viewers. The network wanted a new female character to attract more people. Because of this, they decided to write Polito's character out of the show. The producers told him he would return later. But Polito was upset and spoke out about it. He later said he regretted this. This caused some problems with Tom Fontana. So, his character, Crosetti, was killed off early in the next season. Polito was very unhappy about this. Years later, in 2005, Polito said he regretted how he handled the situation. He also mentioned that he and Fontana later became friends again. Because of this, his character Crosetti even returned as a spirit in Homicide: The Movie.
Collaborating with the Coen Brothers
Jon Polito worked often with the famous filmmakers, the Coen brothers. He appeared in five of their movies. The Coens first saw Polito in a play called Death of a Salesman in 1986. They asked him to play a character called The Dane in their 1990 movie Miller's Crossing.
However, after reading the script, Polito said no. He told them he only wanted to play the Italian gangster Johnny Caspar. The Coens tried out other actors for the part. But in the end, they chose Polito for Johnny Caspar.
For their next movie, Barton Fink (1991), they wrote a role, Lou Breeze, especially for him. Again, he turned them down, saying he wanted to play the movie producer Jack Lipnick. But actress Frances McDormand convinced him to take the role of Lou Breeze. She told him it would be a big step for his career.
He then appeared in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) as an unusual businessman. In The Big Lebowski (1998), he played a private detective. His last movie with them was The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), where he played a charming salesman.
Awards and Recognition
Jon Polito received several awards for his acting. In 1980, he won an Obie Award for his great performances in theater shows in New York.
For his long career in movies and TV, he was honored with the Maverick Spirit Event Award. This was given to him at the Cinequest Film Festival in 2005. Later, in 2012, he won the "Best Actor in a Short Film" award at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival.
Early Life and Family
Jon Polito was born on December 29, 1950, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were John and Delaida "Dee" Polito. He had an older brother, Jack Polito, who was an animator, and a sister, Rosemary Simpson.
He started acting while attending West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys. After high school, he continued to study theater at Villanova University.
Jon Polito passed away on September 1, 2016. He was 65 years old. He died from a type of cancer called multiple myeloma at the City of Hope Hospital, where he was receiving treatment.
See also
In Spanish: Jon Polito para niños
